Glaucoma Management

Don’t Let Glaucoma Steal Your Sight

It’s easy to assume you have no vision problems when you can see clearly, but some diseases can develop without obvious symptoms. One of these diseases is glaucoma, which affects over 3 million Americans.
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Glaucoma can lead to severe vision loss, but early diagnosis and treatment can help save your sight. Dr. Jeannine Fowler and the Eyes Etc. Optical team has many diagnostic tools and glaucoma treatments to help identify and manage this disease before it damages your vision. Visit us in Fort Myers for effective glaucoma management.

What Is Glaucoma?

Glaucoma is a group of progressive eye diseases that damage the optic nerve. This disease can cause severe vision loss if it isn’t treated early. However, glaucoma tends to develop slowly and painlessly, presenting minimal symptoms until significant vision loss occurs.

Testing for Glaucoma

Early diagnosis is crucial for preventing vision loss caused by glaucoma. We test for this disease during every comprehensive eye exam using different diagnostic equipment. We may use one or several of the following tests to evaluate your eye health:

• Ophthalmoscopy allows us to look at the back of your eye through a microscope to examine your optic nerve for potential signs of glaucoma

• Tonometry helps us measure your IOP to see if you’re at risk for glaucoma—many forms of glaucoma raise your internal eye pressure

• Pachymetry: Your corneal thickness can affect the results of a tonometry test, so pachymetry helps us identify the thickness of your cornea—this measurement helps us get a more accurate reading of your IOP

• Gonioscopy helps us examine the drainage angle between your iris & cornea—looking at this angle can help identify issues with fluid drainage in the eye

• Visual field testing helps us identify blind spots in your vision, a common symptom of glaucoma

• ​​​​​​​Optical coherence tomography (OCT) allows us to take detailed photos of the layers of your retina, helping detect early signs of glaucoma

Managing Glaucoma

While glaucoma isn’t curable, we can help manage this disease to avoid further damage to your vision. We cannot restore lost vision, but these treatments can lower your intraocular pressure (IOP). Several treatments exist for glaucoma, and we can recommend the most effective for your needs.

• Prescription eye drops for glaucoma help reduce pressure on the optic nerve by allowing the eye to drain more fluid or lowering the amount of fluid the eye creates

• Oral medication can help lower IOP by reducing the amount of fluid created by the eye, helping lower fluid flow and buildup

• Surgery: Several types of glaucoma surgery exist to lower IOP, including trabeculectomy, glaucoma implant surgery, & minimally invasive glaucoma surgery

• ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Laser treatment for glaucoma involves using a laser beam to help drain fluid from your eye, lowering IOP

Eyes Etc. Optical Can Help You Manage Glaucoma

Glaucoma can significantly affect your vision if left unaddressed. While this disease can cause permanent vision loss, Dr. Jeannine Fowler at Eyes Etc. Optical can help manage glaucoma and protect your eyesight. The most important thing you can do for your eye health is to schedule regular eye exams.